LOCAL JOBLESS RATE DIPS

Not surprisingly, the county’s unemployment rate in January, when not adjusted for seasonal changes, rose to 9.3 percent from 9 percent in December, when retail hiring traditionally spikes for the holidays, according to the state report. As a result, the number of jobs fell by 22,500 from December to January.

Meanwhile, California saw a net loss of 5,200 jobs from December to January, even after seasonal adjustments.

As part of the jobs releases Friday, the Employment Development Department revised its previous employment numbers, revealing that the post-recession jobs losses of 2010 were not as steep as originally thought, while last year’s employment gains were not as healthy as earlier reported.

In California, for example, it was originally estimated that more than 191,000 jobs were added last year, after adjusting for seasonal changes, but that number has now been revised downward to 137,058. Similarly, in San Diego County, the original jobs gain last year was believed to be 19,075, but it is now estimated to be just 8,400 for the year.

Economists agree that it’s entirely possible that subsequent revisions throughout the year could result in a change for the just-released jobs numbers, but growth, albeit slow, should continue.

Phil Blair, co-owner of Manpower San Diego, says he is already seeing hopeful signs of an improving employment picture. The temporary jobs sector, he said, is often a bellwether of what’s to come in the labor market.

“We’re starting to see companies ordering temporaries but saying they might want to hire them permanently,” Blair said. “And customers we haven’t heard from in two years are saying, ‘Surprise, remember me? I need 20 temporaries because we got that contract.’